Arsenal 2 – 2 Manchester City

The Champions salvage a draw at the Etihad Stadium. This was new Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck’s debut for his new club. He did well for England in mid-week, scoring twice in their Euro 2016 qualifier victory over Switzerland. A lot of Gunner fans were anxious to see how well he would do, now that he had moved to London from Manchester United. He should have scored in the 11th minute when his right-footed shot rebounded off the post. It was also the debut for Frank Lampard for Citeh. Although his contract is with the new New York MLS club, because it is owned by the same owners of Citeh, he is on the Champions’ roster. He made his mark in the match by getting booked in the 21st minute for a foul on Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey. But it was Citeh star Sergio Aguero who scored first in the 27th minute when he slotted home a Jesus Navas pass into the bottom corner of the goal past Gunners’ keeper Wojciech Szczesny. Szczensy had to save again in the 31st minute. The first shot was from David Silva and then the rebound came from Aguero. As the second half got underway, Welbeck had another chance to score for his new club. This time, his shot was saved by Citeh keeper Joe Hart. But in the 63rd minute, Jack Wilshere got the equalizer when he finished off Ramsey’s neat pass into the top right corner of the goal. In the 70th minute, Welbeck should have put his new club into the lead, but his shot was easily saved by keeper Hart. It was Alexix Sanchez who did put the Gunners into the lead in the 74th minute when he curled home a Wilshere header into the top right corner of the goal. That should have been good enough for the win, but the Gunners conceded a corner kick in the 82nd minute and Citeh defender Martin Demichelis was able to head the ball into the top right corner of the goal past Szczesny’s reach for the equalizer. Welbeck had one more chance to score in the 86th minute when he took a shot from distance, but the ball missed the top right corner of the goal. The Champions had a couple more chances to win the match deep into stoppage time, but the final whistle ensured the points would be shared.

Chelsea 4 – 2 Swansea

The Blues get an emphatic home win at Stamford Bridge. This one did not start well for the home side. The Swans were in second place coming into this match and had a couple of great wins. They took the lead in the 10th minute when a defensive mix up in the Blues’ defense caused John Terry to knock the ball into his own goal. It looked like that goal might hold up as half-time approached. But this was Chelsea playing at the “Bridge” and they just don’t go down like that. It was striker Diego Costa who leveled the score right at half time when he headed in a Cesc Fabregas corner kick. Fabregas and Costa worked together again to give the home side the lead in the 56th minute when Costa scored from a Fabregas assist. Costa got his hat-trick in the 67th minute when he was able to finish off a pass from Ramires into the bottom left corner of the goal. As Costa was replaced in the 72nd minute by new transfer Loic Remy, he went off to a standing ovation by the Chelsea supporters. Remy scored himself in the 80th minute when he put an Oscar assist into the bottom right corner of the goal. Although Swans’ midfielder Jonjo Shelvey scored in the 86th minute, the visitors were well beaten. So the stage is set for the contest between Chelsea boss Jose Morinho and Citeh boss Manuel Pellegrini for the BPL trophy. This one is going all the way to the last day, I think.

Crystal Palace 0 – 0 Burnley

Palace and Burnley each miss out on a chance to get their first win of the season. This result extended an interesting record that Palace really wanted to break. They have never won a home Premier League match in the month of September. They are now being managed by Neil Warnock who returned to the club after leaving back in February of 2010. Both sides did their best and each had a chance to score the winner. The best chance came late in the second half when Burnley were awarded a penalty kick after Palace midfielder Mile Jedinak fouled Burnley striker Lukas Jutkiewicz in the Palace penalty area. Scott Arfield stepped up to take the spot kick. But it was saved by Palace keeper Julian Speroni. So the result leaves Burnley in the bottom three and Palace one spot above them in 17th place.

Southampton 4 – 0 Newcastle

The Saints get an easy win over a poor Magpies side. This one was quite ugly for Newcastle as they went behind in the fifth minute when Graziano Pelle headed in a Ryan Bertrand cross into the top left corner of the goal. It went from bad to worse for the Magpies in the 18th minute when Pelle’s shot from a Dusan Tadic pass found the bottom right corner of the goal past the reach of keeper Tim Krul. The second half wasn’t any better for the visitors. In the 54th minute, Jack Cork scored the third goal for the Saints with a right-footed shot into the back of the net. The humiliation was completed in the 89th minute when Mirgan Schneiderlin’s shot from a Pelle pass found the bottom right corner of the goal. So the result sends Newcastle to the foot of the BPL table and re-ignites the desire of the fans to get rid of boss Alan Pardew. I wonder how bad this is going to get.

Stoke 0 – 1 Leicester

Leonardo Ulloa’s second half goal gets Leicester their first BPL win of the season. This is a match that Potters’ boss Mark Hughes will want to forget. They were trying to win back-to-back matches after they beat champions Manchester City in their last match. They had a chance to open the scoring in the 18th minute when Peter Crouch’s header from a Victor Moses corner kick missed the goal off to the right. They had a couple of chances to take the lead, but just could seem to put anything together. The visitors scored in the 64th minute when Ulloa scored his left footed shot from a Paul Konchesky cross. The loss was the second this season at home and made many Potters fans quite upset with Hughes. The newly promoted Foxes have made a really good start so far to this season and are serious contenders to stay in the BPL.

Sunderland 2 – 2 Tottenham

Spurs defender Harry Kane’s mistake helps earn the draw for the Blackcats. There were some folks who had picked Spurs to finish in the top four this season. They had made such a great start to the season and were top of the table in the second week. Saturday saw them pressing really hard to make believers out of the fans again and they did score in the second minute when striker Emmanuel Adebayor’s shot was saved by keeper Vito Mannone, but the rebound was slotted home by Nacer Chadli. But the one problem Spurs continue to have has been their defense and it bit them again in the third minute when Sebastian Larsson was able to cut through them and find Adam Johnson who scored the equalizer. Spurs retook the lead as the second half started. This time it was Christian Eriksen who took advantage of the Blackcats’ failure to clear their defensive lines and knocked home the goal into the bottom left corner of the net. That should have been good enough for the win. To their credit, Spurs tried to build on that lead and nearly did in the 75th minute when Erik Lamela’s shot from a Mousa Dembele cross struck the bar. But when the Blackcats were awarded a free-kick in the 81st minute in their attacking third, that’s when disaster struck for the visitors. Kane misplayed the ball in his attempt to defend the free-kick and the ball ended up in the goal past the desperate grasp of keeper Hugo Lloris. The result leaves the London side in sixth place in the BPL table. That’s a heck of a drop.

West Bromwich Albion 0 – 2 Everton

The Toffees get their first win of the season as Romeleu Lukaku scores against his former club. Coming in to this match, the Toffees had conceded 10 goals in their first three matches. That equaled a BPL record and was something that boss Roberto Martinez wanted to reverse in their visit to the Hawthorns Stadium. They made a really outstanding start to the match when Lukaku scored in the second minute of the match with a great strike from distance into the bottom right corner of the goal. The Baggies, who are struggling to score so far this season, didn’t get much of anything toward Everton keeper Tim Howard in the first half. Lukaku nearly made it two right at the stroke of half time when his shot from from an Aiden McGeady pass was just over the goal. He had another chance in the 50th minute that was saved by Baggies keeper Ben Foster. Kevin Mirallas scored the second goal for Everton in the 66th minute when he hit a shot from distance that found the net past keeper Foster. The closest the Baggies would come to a goal would be in the 80th minute when Craig Gardner’s shot from a Christian Gamboa cross was easily saved by keeper Howard. The clean sheet was a good result for the visitors. Let’s see if they can build some momentum on this.

Liverpool 0 – 1 Aston Villa

Gabriel Agbonlahor’s first half goal is good enough for the Villains to win at Anfield. This one was quite shocking as the Reds just don’t lose at home. They were without Daniel Sturridge, who had picked up an injury in the mid-week England match versus Switzerland. That left all the goal scoring duties to Mario Balotelli. The Italian international striker has been touted as the successor to last season’s Golden Ball winner Luiz Suarez. Saturday was supposed to be his day. But the Reds fell behind in the ninth minute when Agbonlahor was able to slot home a lose ball from a corner kick that the Reds’ defense failed to clear. Mamadou Sakho had a chance to equalize in the 10th minute, but his header of a Steven Gerrard cross was saved by Villa keeper Brad Guzan. Balotelli did try to get things going for his new club and he though he had put midfielder Alberto Moreno through on goal in the 30th minute, but the play was whistled for offside. Balotelli created another chance in the 42nd minute for Adam Lallana, but the midfielder’s shot went wide of the goal. Balotelli was put through on goal in the 44th minute by Gerrard, but his shot was blocked by the Villains’ defense. That was pretty how the second half went also. There would be great passes to set up goal attempts for the Reds, but the finishing just wasn’t there. So the Villains were able to steal the victory and move up to second place on the BPL table. Can they hold it?

Manchester United 4 – 0 Queens Park Rangers

The new look Red Devils get boss Louis Van Gaal his first BPL win. This was a great day for the Red Devils as the displayed their new signings for the home fans at Old Trafford. Midfielder Angel Di Maria looked really comfortable in Van Gaal’s diamond formation and in the 23rd minute got his United career off to a great start when he curled a great free-kick from distance into the bottom left corner of the goal past the reach of QPR keeper Robert Green. The second goal came from new guy Ander Herrera when Wayne Rooney set him up and his right footed shot found the bottom left corner of the goal. Rooney got goal number three in the 43rd minute when Herrera set him up and he buried his shot into the bottom left corner of the goal. QPR had a chance to score in the 47th minute when Armand Traore put a good ball through for Niko Kranjcar. But the midfielder’s shot was saved by United keeper David De Gea to maintain the clean sheet. Di Maria, who is truly loving wearing the number 7 shirt, set up Jean Mata for the fourth goal in the 57th minute. Mata was easily through on goal and he roofed his shot for the emphatic score. In the 66th minute, Colombian international striker Falcao made his United debut when he came on for Mata. He nearly scored in the 84th minute when he got on the end of a Daley Blind rebound, but his shot was saved by keeper Green. The win moves United up to the top half of the table and has some wondering if Van Gaal can pull off the miracle and get them back into Europe. We shall see.

Hull City 2 – 2 West Ham

It’s all even for the Tigers and the Hammers at the Kingston Communications Stadium. One of the stories last season was the feuding that was going on between the Hull City fans and the owner. He was bent on making changes to the team name and mascot and changing some of the history of the club. Most the fans were not happy about this and they staged protests and hung banners voicing their displeasure with the owner. Well, now the club is up for sale. So that was the background for the match as the Hammers came visiting on Monday. They weren’t doing that well themselves as they had been humiliated at home versus Southampton in their last BPL match. It was the home side who opened the scoring in the 38th minute when Abel Hernandez headed in an Ahmed Elmihamady cross. But the one that Hammers’ boss Sam Allardyce is good at is Half-Time Inspiration and whatever he said in the locker room worked. In the 50th minute, Stewart Downing was able to set up Enner Valencia who curled a fine shot into the top right corner of the goal to level the score. But the home side was able to retake the lead in the 64th minute when Mohamed Diame hit a great right-footed shot that found the top right corner of the goal. But just when the home fans had a glimmer of hope for a win, Hammers’ striker Diafra Sakho hit a shot that Hull City defender Curtis Davies miss-hit and directed into his own goal. That left boss Steven Bruce upset on the sideline. It was the Hammers who came closest to grabbing all three points when striker Enner Valencia’s header of a Stewart Downing cross was deflected over the bar by defender Michael Dawson. An interesting story started after the match ended. There is a rumor that Steve Bruce could replace Alan Pardew at Newcastle. We shall see.